Colliers OnTrac Officials Fete Completion of New Logistics Building

Author: Keith Karpé

Date Published:
07/01/2018

Two-Building Center also will House Safelite, Furniture Distributor on Site Once Called ‘Undevelopable’

SUN VALLEY, CA – One year ago, as demand for shortened delivery timelines continued to push demand for urban infill logistics facilities to record levels, a team of Colliers International brokers completed a landmark 255,528-square-foot lease transaction a full 12 months ahead of the the state-of-the-art Sun Valley Business Center’s completion in the east San Fernando Valley.

Last week, on what was once a truck storage yard dubbed “undevelopable” by city building officials, executives of OnTrac , members of the Colliers International brokerage team that negotiated the firm’s long-term lease, and a host of technical experts, local political representatives and others, all gathered inside the massive structure that now towers over the site to praise the scope of the project and to have their collective efforts in the project’s success recognized.

“These are the people who made this project a success, who believed that radically new construction techniques would work despite our initial doubts, who, when they saw the plans for the building when it was still a dirt lot, committed to it, convinced that a building would rise on this spot,” said Colliers Senior Executive Vice President John DeGrinis.

“If you were here to witness only the installation of the foundation’s pilings – some measuring 70-feet in length – as they were rotated like a screw into the sandy soil, you know just how advanced and dramatic this construction was and how it allowed us to take an undevelopable piece of ground and make it into this multi-million dollar, state-of-the-art logistics facility,” he added.

In addition to DeGrinis, other members of the brokerage team that sold the land to the developer and pre-leased both buildings were Senior Vice President Patrick DuRoss, and Vice President Jeff Abraham. Also present were the two senior Colliers brokers from the firm’s Silicon Valley office who represent OnTrac throughout the eight western states, John Kovaleski and David Buchholz.

Located at 11063 Pendleton Street in the east San Fernando Valley, the project features direct access to Interstate 5, one of the most heavily travelled interstate highways in the nation. That factor alone was the most critical for the logistics firms that submitted bids to be the first to occupy the space since Interstate 5, or the Golden State Freeway, links it to the largest suburb of the City of Los Angeles and has a separate population of 1.75 million. If it were a separate city and not a suburb of Los Angeles, it would be larger than all but four cities in the U.S.

”Since our team ranges throughout the region, from Ventura County in the north to the fringes of Hollywood and Universal City in the south, and all the way from the San Gabriel mountains in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, we know first hand that there are very few places with a population density of this size,” DuRoss said. “It’s an online retailer’s dream and that’s why logistics firms are racing against the clock to lease these ‘last mile’ properties.”

The Sun Valley Business Center is the first in the valley to include cross-dock loading, 32-foot minimum height clearances, abundant dock-high loading positions, a flexible power platform, fenced loading areas, drive-through truck and van loading paths, and other specialized amenities utilized by logistics companies.

The development is a joint venture of Xebec Realty Partners, long a pioneer in building urban infill warehousing and distribution buildings, and Barings, the global investment management firm headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The companion building on the same site totals 96,970 square feet and has been pre-leased by the same Colliers team to automobile windshield maker Safelite and by a retail furniture distributor, both of which are about a month away from occupying the newly constructed second facility, DeGrinis noted.

About Colliers International Group Inc.
Colliers International Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CIGI) (TSX: CIGI) is a top tier global real estate services and investment management company operating in 69 countries with a workforce of more than 12,000 professionals. Colliers is the fastest-growing publicly listed global real estate services and investment management company, with 2017 corporate revenues of $2.3 billion ($2.7 billion including affiliates). With an enterprising culture and significant employee ownership and control, Colliers professionals provide a full range of services to real estate occupiers, owners and investors worldwide, and through its investment management services platform, has more than $20 billion of assets under management from the world’s most respected institutional real estate investors.

Colliers professionals think differently, share great ideas and offer thoughtful and innovative advice to accelerate the success of its clients. Colliers has been ranked among the top 100 global outsourcing firms by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals for 13 consecutive years, more than any other real estate services firm. Colliers is ranked the number one property manager in the world by Commercial Property Executive for two years in a row.

Colliers is led by an experienced leadership team with a proven record of delivering more than 20% annualized returns for shareholders, over more than 20 years.

About OnTrac
OnTrac is a parcel logistics company with operations throughout the Western United States, arranging overnight delivery at ground rates to more than 60 million consumers. OnTrac was founded in 1991, and has grown to become a top choice for e-commerce and companies looking to speed up delivery without the cost of express shipping. In 2014, OnTrac launched DirectPost, and became the first regional carrier to offer a USPS Package Consolidation Service. OnTrac is a SmartWay Transport Partner, a USPS Workshare Partner, and is integrated with over 30 different multi-carrier software providers. OnTrac is comprised of three divisions based on service offerings; overnight, messenger, and international. For more information on overnight services, call 800.334.5000 or visit www.ontrac.com. For more information on messenger services, call 888.334.5001 or visit www.ontracmessenger.com. For more information on international services, call 800.628.4868 or visit www.ontracinternational.com.